People taking longer, more expensive holidays, says survey

Spending on leisure travel this summer increased significantly from the same period last year, according to an analysis by a travel portal.

The study by HolidayIQ.com compared bookings of approximately 45 lakh vacationers between April and May this year over the same period in 2012. It found that the average travel budget per person per night increased from Rs1654 in 2012 to Rs2690 in 2013, about 63%. The average length of vacations has also increased by 6%.

“One of the reasons behind increasing holiday budgets is the rising number of multiple income families and higher disposable incomes,” said Hari Nair, founder and chief executive officer, HolidayIQ.com.

Increase in disposable income also meant that half the number of people surveyed opted for resorts, renting a house or bed and breakfast lodges over hotels.

Budgets of people from Tier II cities were higher than those of travellers from metros. Amritsar topped the list with a per person per night spend of Rs4710, followed by Dehradun (Rs4124) and Mangalore (Rs4037). Residents of smaller cities and towns also enjoyed longer holidays. The average vacation for people from Surat was 4.36 nights, followed by Rajkot (4.34 nights) and Indore (4.18 nights).

The report also showed it was cheaper to travel in big groups. Couples spent about Rs3202 per person per night, families spent Rs2687 and people travelling in groups spent Rs2216.